Better than a Google Internship

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Maybe it was just a coincidence, but three days before I started my internship with Dashfire, the movie The Internship was released. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson land internships at Google after losing their jobs as watch salesmen; hilarity ensues. Hilarity might be a strong word (I’d give the movie a B: funny but not hysterical). I left the theater wondering what the next ten weeks would hold. Would the other interns and I be forced to compete for full-time positions by playing Quidditch? Thankfully that’s not the case, although I did learn there were discussions of a Hunger Games style intern competition. I probably wouldn’t be here writing this post if that happened, considering my hand-to-hand combat skills are more than rusty.

Like Vaughn and Wilson’s characters, I didn’t see myself working in the heart of Chicago’s tech scene. I didn’t see myself working as a watch salesperson either. In high school, I packed my course schedule with extra math and science classes because that’s what I was good at. It probably didn’t help that since birth, someone has been telling me that those fields are lacking a strong female presence, and if I wanted any hope in ever finding a job, I’d pursue a math or science related career. Meanwhile, I spent most of my free time in inherently creative extracurriculars like orchestra and yearbook, which I viewed as hobbies and not viable career paths.

With these ideas engrained in my mind and an unhealthy obsession with both Grey’s Anatomy and Rudy, I decided to go to University of Notre Dame to become a doctor. Horrified at the mere idea of taking General Chemistry Principles, I promptly realized the medical field wasn’t for me. Two years later (and after many appointments with Bridget at the Career Center), I’m double majoring in graphic design and applied mathematics.

I thought I wanted to cure cancer and be the first Asian-American Surgeon General. My past self would probably be horrified to find out that I’m spending the summer reading tech blogs and wireframing instead of administering polio shots in Haiti or shadowing a doctor at Northwestern Memorial. I want to help make someone’s idea into the next big thing and that’s what we’re doing at Dashfire. I’d also like to meet recent boy band phenomenon One Direction and if this internship can pave the way towards that goal too, then this summer is shaping up to be the best one yet.